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In this post I'm going to rank the legendary gladius cards.
Because these cards cannot be bought on the market, I'm assuming they are pretty rare and many of you might not have any of these.
Still, they are interesting cards to discuss and you might want to be prepared for when you do eventually find them.
I will mainly look at their strength at level 1, but I will also be looking (a bit) at their upgraded version (mainly at level 2).
1. Fina Voxom
Fina Voxom takes the first place because of a combination of many factors.
First, the base stats are amazing for a 5 mana card. 3 attack, 4 attack speed and 7 health. Because of the bloodlust ability, offensive stats are a very important ranking criteria here.
The most important factor is still the opportunity ability. High damage + opportunity means that Fina is going to be hunting for those final blows. This is very important when you combine this with the bloodlust ability.
Also, keep in mind that both Tarsa and Yodin have very nice abilities to buff Fina's chances of getting final blows.
On top of all that, she gets the piercing ability at level 2, this makes her an absolute monster. She will very often be able to cause a snowball effect -because of the bloodlust ability- and win the game on her own. Also, she gains +1 attack at this level... absolutely insane.
In my opinion the clear winner!
Fina has struggled and fought her way up from the most despised social class in all the Burning Lands, the Ruddy. This forbidden hybrid race that came from crossing cinder elves with pureblood Efreet generally keeps to themselves in their highland Molten Mountain hideaways. Very few of them (only the bravest) have ever tried to make a living in the broader Burning Lands, and even fewer have held aspirations to battle in the Moxian tournaments. Fina has proven herself against anyone who has ever challenged her. She does not use magic, but she is a wizard with the siow that she carries everywhere with her. The siow is an incredibly long, thin blade whose mastery can take years. An effective siow warrior can engage ten men at once in combat; Fina can handle more than twenty. She will now prove her worth and the worth of her clan to everyone at Mount Mox by battling as a professional Gladiator.
2. Flagulon Reine
Also a very strong killing machine, Flagulon Reine.
At 6 mana you get 2 magic damage, 2 attack speed and 6 health.
That doesn't sound extremely good on it's own. However, the ability changes everything, she has blast!
Once again, offensive stats matter more than defensive stats because we are looking for cards that will often deal the final blow. Flagulon Reine is pretty effective at this.
However, there is a pretty big "if" here, you will need to use Alric as the summoner. I mean, she will still be decent without him I guess, but not nearly as strong.
Remember, the +1 magic damage buff counts for her blast damage as well. Meaning that this buff has major impact. Especially when you consider the potentional snowball effect (yes, bloodlust) that it might cause.
At level 2 she gains +1 health and the shatter ability. Not the best upgrade, espiecally the ability isn't that useful because you will often use only magic damage monsters.
Still, extremely strong at level 1.
The incredibly tall stormcaster called Flagulon Reine always speaks softly, for one who commands such power with their movements rarely needs to make verbal commands. He is Khymian by race, meaning that he was not born of a mother, but delivered from the sky as an infant by Kralus the sacred flying tiger. As a young man, Flagulon became so serious about his stormcalling magic that he left the land of his ancestors and traveled to the lawless Splinter of ΛZMΛRÉ, where storms are far more plentiful, to learn the true potential of his powers. There over the next thirty years, Flagulon resided in the islands, practicing and mastering his own special system of certamine expugnatum, meaning “combat by storm.” In this strangely beautiful method of hand-to-hand combat, the stormfighter rarely must make physical contact with his enemy, relying instead on small storms and forces of nature that extend from his fists and feet.
As with most stormcasters, Flagulon’s preferred method of attack power is lightning. He even spent a couple years in the Sands of Draykh-Nahka, living in a cave and observing the wild Lightning Dragons from a safe distance. By watching them and studying their movements, he was able to determine that they instinctively call upon ancient magic when they release lightning attacks, doing so by subtle motions of their claws and jaws. Reine has never taught a student, but he hopes that serving as a professional Gladiator at Mount Mox will provide him the opportunity to meet his protege and to pass on what he has learned.
3. Xulax Nightwind
At this point it's getting a bit more difficult to decide who gets the bronze medaille here, it's a pretty close call.
However, turns out Xulax Nightwind is still better than his competitors.
The card is pretty simple, you get a big frontline tank for 9 mana.
You get 3 attack, 3 attack speed, 7 health, 7 armor and the void armor ability.
Definitely a solid card, but doesn't have the same killing potential as the number 1 and 2 on this list. You have to keep in mind that he will first face the enemy's frontline tank, which will probably not die very fast.
On the other hand, even though he will be at the front of the battlefield (usually) he will be hard to kill. The longer a monster stays alive, the more chance you have to get a final blow.
One last argument for his 3th place, at level 2 he gets +1 attack and the thorns ability, making him a lot more lethal. In case you are wondering, an enemy killed by thorns will trigger your bloodlust ability.
The Lord of Darkness has submitted a single Dark Eternal champion to Mount Mox as a Gladiator, a Death Knight called Xulax Nightwind. His armor is crafted of raw shadow ore and adorned with grotesque bones and skulls. The suit which he always wears fully surrounds Xulax, so no one knows the appearance of the monster underneath.
The lance carried to battle by this Death champion is a frightening weapon, sharpened at both ends with a massive scythe blade for slashing. Either the weapon is incredibly light and easy to maneuver or Nightwind has uncanny strength that allows him to wield it as easily and as naturally as a thief wields a dagger. He has never allowed any other Gladiator to lay hands on this weapon, which is clearly very important to him.
Equally terrifying to the rider is the ravenous giant wolf on which he rides into battle. The wolf’s name is Tergoth; it is the familiar and only friend of Xulax Nightwind. When they charge an enemy, Tergoth comes in biting and slashing while Xulax charges with his lance. No enemy is ever left unscathed. The Lord of Darkness delights not only in the victories brought to him by Xulax Nightwind, but the sheer terror he inflicts on both competitors and spectators.
4. Tatiana Blayde
Tatiana comes in at place 4.
She costs 8 mana has 2 ranged attack, 3 melee attack, 5 attack speed and 5 health.
She also has the close range ability.
Yes she does have a lot of offensive power, however, because of the high mana and low health, I do find it difficult to fit het into my lineups. Once she gets going she's obviously very strong, but often she will die before she can really make use of the bloodlust ability.
In games where melee monsters can attack in any position, her chances increase because she will do 2 + 3 damage (+ a potential buff).
She's good, but has her weaknesses.
One evening as the orange sun was setting behind the hills west of Mount Mox, a beautiful but deadly warrior stranger strode along the banks of the River Myklo and into the markets of Mox City. Her baggage was scarce; she carried only a small pouch on her back that contained little more than flint and tinder. In each of her hands were weapons like nothing that had ever been seen in the Splinterlands. At a glance, these two fans could be mistaken for glamorous accessories, but upon closer inspection anyone who approached would realize that the blades of her fans were razor sharp and crafted of a stronger steel than can be made from any Splintral quarry’s iron.
She went straight for the jerky stand where the famed trapper Korprus Giyo sells his exotic cured meats, slapping onto his counter a small purse containing coins of pure gold. These coins were not the seed coins with which everyone in the Splinterlands was familiar. Seed coins only contain a small amount of gold, but upon sinking his pointed teeth lightly into one of the shining coins from the lady’s purse, Giyo quickly realized that these coins were far more valuable. “Not from around here, are you?” the trapper asked curiously of the beautiful stranger.
With eyes as sharp as the blades of her fans, the young woman looked him over, as if deciding whether she could trust the jerky merchant with her identity. Finally she said: “I am not. My name is Tatiana Blayde, and I hear there is a call for Gladiators.” Her tone implied that she would answer no further questions.
Wrapping up a massive collection of his best jerkies, Korpus Giyo understood immediately and simply replied: “Eastern edge of town there,” pointing to the massive Gloridax arena as the last rays of sunlight illuminated the crystal sculptures adorning its western wall. “Can’t miss it.”
Tatiana took her package of exotic Praetorian jerky from the counter and paid the trapper. Then nodding in curt appreciation, she turned and set off toward the arena. Korpus Giyo watched her walk away until she was out of sight, especially noticing the extremely long shadow that she cast in the setting sun.
5. Larissa Kerato
2 magic damage and double strike? Wait, why is a card this lethal only at position 5?
Because she only has 3 health, 2 attack speed and costs 7 mana.
Yes, from time to time she will get her first kill and carry the game all by herself. However, she is very situational, because when your enemy uses one or multiple opportunity monsters (even a level 1 serpentine spy + Tarsa is enough), it's game over.
There is a problem with using many low health creatures to absorb the first blows because this might feed the enemy's bloodlust monster.
I'm not a player who likes to bet on these types of things. Also, she does not get any increased base stats at any level (which is very weird). At level 2 she gets void armor, but since you only hace 3 health, it isn't that useful... I think this is a very weird card design in terms of stats.
Anyway, she can obviously get really strong and many of you are probably thinking about using her with Delwyn Dragonscale because of the +1 magic damage buff, which would give her 6 magic damage per turn... Which is pretty crazy.
However, since you also only have 2 attack speed, the question is how often will you be able to actually attack?
As I said, she can be very strong, but she can also die pretty fast.
Larissa is not what anyone would expect as a Gloridax champion Gladiator, but she was enrolled by the Dragons nonetheless. She is one of the only remaining members of a proud waning race known as the chamen, whose story is tragic at its worst and brilliantly heroic at its best. The legend says that the last battalion of chamen warriors faced off against an indestructible enemy, the loathsome Titan of Doom. Knowing they would be destroyed, the brave mages and soldiers of the chamen rode off to intercept their enemy as it bore down on the innocent city of Athua that they had called home for many generations. The battle raged for three days, and every last chamen warrior was destroyed, but the Titan was far from unscathed. Its injuries were enough to cause it to retreat into the storm cloud from whence it came without inflicting any harm on the city of Athua, whose residents heard nothing of the chamen’s deeds.
The tale of chamen sacrifice was shared among the Dragons alone, thanks to a single Lightning Dragon who had witnessed the battle. Over the years, memory of the noble chamen warriors and powerful chamen mages faded from the people of Athua, but the Dragons never forgot. The few chamen that survived were watched over and protected by the Dragons even until the great Splintering, and their future generations were given a home in the new Dragon city of Centrum in hopes that the dying race could prosper and regain its former glory. This is the legacy that the Dragons see in Larissa Kerato, their last and greatest chaman champion.
Chamen resemble humans in every way except for pointed ears and curved horns that protrude from their foreheads. Larissa began as an artist drawing astounding portraits for rich passers-by on the streets of Centrum, but by her teenage years she discovered that her hands contained great power beyond simple artistry. She reported of her own accord at eighteen to Gloridax military service and was promptly accepted into their most accelerated program, the guide mages. Over the next few years, Larissa was taught secrets of Dragon magic and became one of the most powerful living weapons of the Gloridax. Now she will represent them in the arena as a Gladiator and bring glory to her chaman ancestors.
The other legendary gladius cards are also strong, but they lack killing potential. At the end of the day, brawls are usually won by getting your bloodlust card some kills.
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